AP ENGLISH LITERATURE
ELEMENTS OF FICTION BOOT CAMP
MRS. IZZO


We will begin class with an intense, five-week period in which we review the major elements of fiction, read 15-20 short stories, and write five papers. Those papers will begin as Mad 50s, which you will take home and type up for peer review and revision prior to my assessment. In addition to the papers, you will be taking pre-and post-assessments measuring your absorption of terms and language growth. Only the post-assessments will count for a grade, and you will be required to re-take any assessment on which you score less than an 80. Your original grade will not be replaced, but the new grade will be averaged into your score.
PLOT, STRUCTURE, CHARACTERIZATION
Week of 9/8:
Pre-Assessment
Read Fiction Overview (pp. 51-63)
O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” pp. 77-89

Week of 9/14:
Williams’ “Taking Care,” pp. 95-102
Mahler's "Kindertotenlieder"
Plot and Structure Overview, pp. 109-114
Writing about Plot, pp. 161-168
Kinkaid’s “What I Have Been Doing Lately,” pp. 148-149
Characterization, pp. 174-176
Writing About Characters, pp. 234-238
Cather’s “Paul’s Case,” pp. 177-190
Tan’s “Two Kinds,” pp. 226-233
Mad 50 and Post Assessment


Week of 9/21:
Point of View: p. 244-249
Bierce: “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” p. 257-263
Jackson: “The Lottery”: p. 268-273
Writing About Point of View: 278-284
Setting: p. 285-290
Greenberg: “And Sarah Laughed”: p. 323-331
Writing About Setting: 335-339
Mad 50 and Post Assessment: Plot, Point of View, or Setting


Week of 9/28 Style: p. 340-347
O’Connor: “First Confession”: p. 360-365
Updike: “A&P” p. 369-373
Writing About Style: p. 375-379
More About Style; Style Exercises
Tone: p. 380-386
Chopin: “Story of an Hour” p. 393-395
How to Become a Writer p. 274
Flannery O'Connor: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
Writing About Tone: p. 419-424


Mad 50: Style or Tone


Week of October 5
Symbolism and Allegory: p. 425-431
Aesop: “The Fox and the Grapes”: p. 431
“The Myth of Atalanta” p. 432-433
Hawthorne: “Young Goodman Brown” p. 436-445 - YGB unpublished questions
St. Luke: “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” p. 445-447
Writing About Symbolism or Allegory: p. 456-462
Mad 50 Essay 4: Symbolism or Tone thesis